Department of Family Medicine, 462 Grider Street, CC-175 Buffalo, NY 14215, USA.
Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2012 Jun;91(6):533-45. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0b013e3182555ea4.
Negative healthcare provider attitudes toward patients with physical disabilities may challenge the delivery of quality care to patients. The objective of this study was to systematically review published studies examining the attitudes of healthcare students and professionals toward patients with physical disabilities.
In October 2011, we searched four electronic databases using the OVID platform. In addition, we screened citation lists. Independent reviewers completed the selection of articles and data abstraction by triplicate review using standardized and pilot tested forms. They resolved disagreements by discussion or with the help of an additional reviewer when necessary. Articles were included if they examined healthcare professionals' and students' attitudes toward patients with physical disabilities. We did not perform a meta-analysis because of the variation in instruments used and variables examined. We used a qualitative approach to identifying and reporting common findings across the studies.
Results indicate that healthcare students and professionals have favorable attitudes toward persons with physical disabilities. More experience with persons with physical disabilities, both professionally and socially, was associated with more favorable attitudes. In addition, female healthcare students and professionals were found to have more positive attitudes toward patients with physical disabilities than do their male colleagues. Limited evidence exists examining the influence of age, race or ethnicity, and rank of student or professional on attitudes toward patients with physical disabilities. Finally, it was found that healthcare students and professionals reported overall more favorable attitudes than did individuals in non-healthcare professions.
Overall, healthcare students' and professionals' attitudes toward persons with physical disabilities were favorable. However, some studies revealed the possibility that some healthcare providers demonstrate fear and anxiety with the challenge of caring for a patient with physical disabilities. Some of the factors associated with providers' attitudes toward patients with physical disabilities are potentially modifiable (e.g., experience) and could be the target of educational interventions to ameliorate this fear and facilitate higher quality care.
医疗保健提供者对身体残疾患者的负面态度可能会对为患者提供优质护理构成挑战。本研究的目的是系统地回顾已发表的研究，这些研究检查了医疗保健学生和专业人员对身体残疾患者的态度。
2011 年 10 月，我们使用 OVID 平台搜索了四个电子数据库。此外，我们还筛选了参考文献列表。独立评审员使用标准化和试点测试的表格，通过三重审查完成了文章的选择和数据提取。如有必要，他们通过讨论或借助其他评审员解决分歧。如果文章检查了医疗保健专业人员和学生对身体残疾患者的态度，则将其纳入。由于使用的仪器和检查的变量存在差异，我们没有进行荟萃分析。我们使用定性方法来识别和报告研究之间的共同发现。
结果表明，医疗保健学生和专业人员对身体残疾人士持有有利的态度。更多的身体残疾患者的专业和社交经验与更有利的态度相关。此外，与男性同事相比，女性医疗保健学生和专业人员对身体残疾患者的态度更为积极。关于年龄、种族或民族以及学生或专业人员的地位对身体残疾患者态度的影响，证据有限。最后，发现医疗保健学生和专业人员报告的态度总体上比非医疗保健专业人员更为有利。
总体而言，医疗保健学生和专业人员对身体残疾人士的态度是有利的。然而，一些研究表明，一些医疗保健提供者在照顾身体残疾患者时表现出恐惧和焦虑。与提供者对身体残疾患者的态度相关的一些因素是潜在可改变的（例如，经验），可以成为教育干预的目标，以减轻这种恐惧并促进更高质量的护理。
